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Valley Center High

Q: Is Valley Center High a good school?

Valley Center High ranks 1187 th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

1187^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,162 California High Schools

Better than 45% of California high schools

Summary

Valley Center High is a public high school serving approximately 1,075 students in grades 9-12 in the rural community of Valley Center, California, operating within the Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District.

The school presents a unique profile, with its most significant strength being an exceptionally high graduation rate of 94.3%, which outperforms both the state and district averages. This success in helping students complete their diplomas is notable because it occurs alongside academic proficiency rates on state tests that are below state averages, particularly in mathematics, and a rate of chronic absenteeism that is higher than the state average. This suggests the school has effective support systems to keep students on track for graduation. However, the school's overall state ranking has declined in recent years from previous higher performance.

When compared to nearby schools, Valley Center High stands in stark contrast to its district neighbor, Oak Glen High, which has much lower academic and graduation metrics. It also serves a different community than very high-performing local charter schools like Classical Academy High and Escondido Charter High, which have higher test scores but also serve student populations with different socioeconomic characteristics. The school's per-student spending is moderate compared to other traditional public high schools in the area such as Escondido High and Orange Glen High.

1,075

Students ?

21.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,582

Per pupil spending ?

61.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

31322 Cole Grade Rd.
Valley Center, CA 92082-3867

(760) 751-5500

District: Valley Center-Pauma Unified

Feeder schools for Valley Center High:

Elementary:	Lilac
	Pauma Elementary
	Valley Center Elementary
	Valley Center Primary
Middle:	Valley Center Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

63.3%

White:

20.6%

American Indian:

7.8%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Valley Center High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 76th percentile in 2015 → 45th in 2025

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (25% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 31 percentile points since 2015

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school25%

District avg23%

California avg41%

1,187^th of 2,162

California public high schools ?

Bottom 45%▼ down 31 pts since 2015

From top 24% (2015) to bottom 45% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Valley Center-Pauma Unified

1237^th of 1,543Valley Center-Pauma Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.1	1187 of 2162	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	55.7	860 of 2159	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.4	952 of 2170	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	36.9	1261 of 2123	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	57.8	492 of 1290	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.6	684 of 2133	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	68.0	631 of 2017	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	70.5	590 of 2021	70.8%	★★★★☆
2016	70.6	548 of 2039	73.1%	★★★★☆
2015	73.6	478 of 1994	76.0%	★★★★☆
2013	68.9	324 of 2426	86.6%	★★★★☆
2012	66.5	383 of 2354	83.7%	★★★★☆
2011	64.5	409 of 2367	82.7%	★★★★☆
2010	63.0	444 of 2281	80.5%	★★★★☆
2009	65.3	331 of 2238	85.2%	★★★★☆
2008	67.0	324 of 2117	84.7%	★★★★☆
2007	68.2	295 of 2063	85.7%	★★★★☆
2006	62.0	426 of 1968	78.4%	★★★★☆
2005	67.3	289 of 1901	84.8%	★★★★☆
2004	64.5	274 of 1653	83.4%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	28.9	851 of 1161	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.1	406 of 555	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	58.5	302 of 1117	73.0%	★★★★☆
2018	55.9	329 of 1052	68.7%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.4	930 of 1085	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.7	836 of 1064	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	42.7	459 of 1044	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	56.2	138 of 467	70.4%	★★★★☆
2019	28.8	790 of 941	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.0	539 of 938	42.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.1	1018 of 1906	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	53.0	828 of 1915	56.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.5	809 of 1915	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	36.2	1149 of 1858	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	53.2	477 of 1054	54.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.9	603 of 1833	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.0	666 of 1760	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	42.0	1120 of 1900	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.4	798 of 1902	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	46.4	993 of 1917	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.9	1313 of 1861	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.3	831 of 1814	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	60.8	661 of 1742	62.1%	★★★☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.0	354 of 410	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	48.0	130 of 299	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	30.4	210 of 290	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	37.3	1283 of 2013	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.3	984 of 2026	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.3	1270 of 2030	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.2	1245 of 1943	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	62.2	370 of 1126	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.4	798 of 1937	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	68.1	571 of 1862	69.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	35.8	1217 of 1942	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	52.2	844 of 1948	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.2	997 of 1963	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.1	1167 of 1916	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	55.6	445 of 1122	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.7	722 of 1880	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	67.6	577 of 1834	68.5%	★★★☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.1	72 of 85	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	51.2	38 of 85	55.3%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.1	422 of 577	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	49.4	302 of 574	47.4%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	28.6	11 of 16	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.2	7 of 16	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	33.9	11 of 15	26.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.5	8 of 11	27.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.5	8 of 16	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	85.6	3 of 21	85.7%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	29.0	906 of 1252	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.4	956 of 1216	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.7	874 of 1197	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	36.0	775 of 1155	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.2	637 of 1173	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	58.3	500 of 1193	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	39.7	722 of 1204	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	63.2	442 of 1222	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	70.2	375 of 1173	68.0%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2025)47th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)41st percentile-4 vs school

Male (2025)37th percentile-8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)36th percentile-9 vs school

White (2025)33rd percentile-12 vs school

Native American (2025)31st percentile-14 vs school

Special Education (2025)28th percentile-17 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)27th percentile-18 vs school

Disabled (2022)27th percentile-14 vs school

Migrant (2025)15th percentile-30 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)14th percentile-46 vs school

Homeless (2025)14th percentile-31 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy42%-7 vs state

Science23%-10 vs state

Mathematics14%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Valley Center High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 10th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Valley Center High	Public	9-12	31322 Cole Grade Rd.	Valley Center	92082	San Diego County	Valley Center-Pauma Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 751-5500	1,075	51	21.4	61.7%	221 (20.6%)	7 (0.7%)	680 (63.3%)	20 (1.9%)	84 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (5.9%)	43.1	1187^th of 2162 public high schools	45.1%		55.7	860^th of 2159 public high schools	60.2%	327		18.9	26.7	22.9		42.0	42.0		14.4	14.4	$17,582	$1,632	$15,950
Oak Glen High	Public	9-12	14172 West Oak Glen Rd.	Valley Center	92082	San Diego County	Valley Center-Pauma Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 751-0455	78	3	31.2	76.9%	4 (5.1%)	1 (1.3%)	55 (70.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (11.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (11.5%)	11.9	1920^th of 2162 public high schools	11.2%		9.9	2078^th of 2159 public high schools	3.8%	158		10.0	0.0	5.1		2.9	2.9		3.0	3.0	$23,751	$3,551	$20,200
All Tribes Charter	Public, Charter	6-12	34320 Valley Center Rd.	Valley Center	92082	San Diego County	All Tribes Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 749-5982	82	6	13.6	96.3%	6 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (12.2%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (72.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (8.5%)	29.6	1495^th of 2162 public high schools	30.9%					(n/a)				18.8	0.0	27.3	10.8	0.0	18.2	5.4	$37,998	$11,032	$26,966
Bonsall High	Public	9-12	7350 West Lilac Rd.	Bonsall	92003	San Diego County	Bonsall Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 305-5700	342	21	16.0	66.7%	79 (23.1%)	6 (1.8%)	183 (53.5%)	8 (2.3%)	33 (9.6%)	3 (0.9%)	30 (8.8%)	46.9	1100^th of 2162 public high schools	49.1%		51.2	978^th of 2159 public high schools	54.7%	122		24.2		24.2		53.0	53.0		18.5	18.5	$21,333	$715	$20,618
Valley High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	410 North Hidden Trails Rd.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 291-2240	269	18	14.8	91.4%	11 (4.1%)	3 (1.1%)	253 (94.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	8.7	2084^th of 2162 public high schools	3.6%		11.5	1975^th of 2159 public high schools	8.5%	109			0.0	0.0		6.0	6.0		0.8	0.8	$24,432	$2,174	$22,258
Escondido High	Public	9-12	1535 North Broadway	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 291-4000	1,656	90	18.3	82.7%	192 (11.6%)	27 (1.6%)	1,334 (80.6%)	79 (4.8%)	10 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	11 (0.7%)	52.9	971^st of 2162 public high schools	55.1%		53.2	928^th of 2159 public high schools	57.0%	43	24.9		9.3	23.1		61.0	61.0		19.7	19.7	$19,610	$1,813	$17,797
Escondido Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	1868 East Valley Pkwy.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Charter High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 737-3154	932	54	17.3	35.2%	347 (37.2%)	15 (1.6%)	415 (44.5%)	91 (9.8%)	12 (1.3%)	3 (0.3%)	49 (5.3%)	88.7	223^rd of 2162 public high schools	89.7%		92.6	170^th of 2159 public high schools	92.1%	53		51.7		51.5		73.8	73.8		50.0	50.0	$13,397	$00	$13,397
Twin Oaks High	Public	9-12	158 Cassou Rd.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2555	192	19	10.0	56.3%	45 (23.4%)	6 (3.1%)	120 (62.5%)	11 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	9 (4.7%)	11.2	1956^th of 2162 public high schools	9.5%		11.2	1990^th of 2159 public high schools	7.8%	34		8.3	0.0	6.9		9.7	9.7		1.4	1.4	$21,433	$1,691	$19,742
Foothills High	Public	9-12	158 Cassou Rd.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2544	101	5	20.2	57.4%	32 (31.7%)	2 (2.0%)	61 (60.4%)	2 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.0%)	28.3	1516^th of 2162 public high schools	29.9%		30.9	1468^th of 2159 public high schools	32.0%	48		6.3		9.8		44.1	42.6		11.8	8.7	$12,838	$793	$12,045
Orange Glen High	Public	9-12	2200 Glen Ridge Rd.	Escondido	92027	San Diego County	Escondido Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 291-5000	1,788	94	19.1	89.0%	80 (4.5%)	26 (1.5%)	1,608 (89.9%)	53 (3.0%)	7 (0.4%)	5 (0.3%)	8 (0.4%)	43.2	1185^th of 2162 public high schools	45.2%		35.6	1350^th of 2159 public high schools	37.5%	165	20.2		7.1	19.3		49.1	49.1		18.6	18.6	$19,936	$2,000	$17,936

Frequently Asked Questions about Valley Center High

What district is Valley Center High in?

Valley Center-Pauma Unified

Is Valley Center High a good school?

Valley Center High ranks 1187^th of 2162 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Valley Center High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,075 students attended Valley Center High.

What is the racial makeup of Valley Center High?

Students at Valley Center High are 63% Hispanic, 21% White, 8% American Indian, 6% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools feed into Valley Center High?

Valley Center High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Lilac
Elementary : Pauma Elementary
Elementary : Valley Center Elementary
Elementary : Valley Center Primary
Middle : Valley Center Middle

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.